He’s a bit of an unexpected hero. With Kwadwo Duah, of course, but Michel Aebischer achieved what a Swiss player had never been capable of doing in a European Championship match: giving an assist and scoring in the same match. The national team’s 3-1 victory against Hungary inevitably bears its mark.
“I think I’m going to sleep very well tonight,” smiled the 27-year-old from Friborg after the game. I’m very happy, we had a good match, even if the end was a little more complicated. We’ve given up on the idea of playing a bit, that’s something we need to fix. If you have the ball, the opponent can’t score.”
It is no coincidence that Michel Aebischer shone when Switzerland had control of the game: lined up in an outside left role in the defensive phase, he was called to go inside during sequences of possession. A function that he knew he would be called upon to fulfill “since Tuesday”, he confided, juggling languages (German, French, Italian and English) as easily as with positions on the ground. And that’s how he found a superb pass for Duah’s opener and was able to put himself in a striking position for the 2-0.
“On my goal, I felt Remo’s pass coming (Editor’s note: Freuler) and I saw that Ricardo (Editor’s note: Rodriguez) had made a call behind my back, he describes. I wanted to put the ball to him, but the defender anticipated the pass, so I chose to shoot. I think I did well.” Indeed, especially since the Bologna midfielder had never scored in the Swiss jersey before this Cologne match. Something to be delighted about.
Even if Aebischer will also be able to feed the frustration of having been abused in the reduction of the Hungarian score, by Varga. “I haven’t seen it again yet, I tried to block him, but he still managed to score,” regretted the Singinois. He will be able to live with it. And above all, he can only progress in these situations, especially if he is called upon to occupy this position again.
